The Contest
by Raichel Chu
Summary: A pokeshipping/AaML story. Misty gets an all-expense paid vacation from her sisters to Sinnoh.


Ok, second story. Here we go!

(I don't own pokemon. I never said I did.)

"_...and we know it's never simple, never easy. Never a clean break, no one here to save me. You're the only thing I know like the back of my hand..._" Misty sang along to her i-pod.

"Ahem." said a voice from the doorway to her bedroom. Misty jumped and paused the song, blushing,

"Uh, h-hi, Violet. H-how long have you, uh, been there?" asked Misty. Her blue-haired sister grinned,

"Not that long." said Violet, "Listen, all three of us agree that you've been in this gym too long." Misty raised an eyebrow,

"Uh-huh..." said Misty, suspiciously.

"Well, we've gotten you a vacation. You're headed to Sinnoh on a ferry tomorrow. If you want it, that is." Misty's jaw dropped.

"S-seriously?" said Misty, unbelieving.

"Seriously." Violet replied, grinning. Misty leapt up and hugged her sister around the neck. "Whoa!" said Violet, "Don't give me all the thanks! All three of us pitched in!" Misty bolted down the hall, found Daisy and Lilly, and hugged them too.

"Oh my god! Thank you,thank you,thank you,thank you! You guys! I can't believe you did this!" said Misty, grinning from ear to ear. Then she suddenly got serious, "You promise you'll battle people while I'm gone? You won't just make them do chores?" Lilly smiled at her younger sister,

"Don't worry about it, kid! You've got a whole week in Sinnoh."

"Don't screw it up!" said Daisy, winking.

"What's that supposed to mean?" said Misty, blushing.

"It means we know full well that your boyfriend is in Sinnoh."

"BOYFRIEND?" shrieked Misty, blushing even more. All three of her sisters grinned at her,

"You know," said Daisy, "That kid from pallet town with a pikachu?"

"Ash is not my boyfriend!" snapped Misty, "I haven't seen him in at least a year or two..."

"A 'year or two'?" asked Lilly skeptically. Misty blushed,

"OK, 1 year, 2 months and six days. Why?"

As Misty is getting ready to go...

"You promise you'll actually battle people?" asked Misty for what seemed to her sisters like the 1000th time, backpack slung over her shoulder.

"Yes!" said Violet, grinning.

"Go! Go!" said Lilly, pushing her sister, "You're gonna miss the ferry!"

"See you in a week." said Misty, waving to her sisters, and running to get on the ferry.

"Think she'll come back with her boyfriend?" asked Daisy,

"Think she will?" said Violet, "I've got ten bucks riding on it!"

A few hours of sleep and travel later...

"Wow!" said Misty, looking around. "So this is Sinnoh..." someone bumped into her, or maybe she ran into them. Neither one was sure.

"Oh! Ow, sorry!" said a girl with very short orange hair and a pair of sunglasses on her head,

"No, it was my fault. M-my name's Misty. This is my first time in Sinnoh."

"I'm Zoey!" Said the girl, holding out her hand. Misty shook it, smiling. "And this is my glameow."

"_Glameow!_" Said the sleek gray and white pokemon, climbing up on its trainer's shoulder.

"It's beautiful!" Said Misty, stroking the pokemon's head.

"Are you here for the contest?" asked Zoey. Misty looked at her, confused,

"Contest?"

"Yeah! You gonna enter?"

_'What the heck,'_ thought Misty, _'I'm on vacation!'_, "Sure!" said Misty, shrugging cheerfully.

"OK!" said Zoey, "Wanna come with me to get your outfit?"

"I'm following you!" said Misty. This could be fun!

"You a dress or a pants girl?" Asked Zoey as they walked over a bridge. Misty looked at the bridge, it looked like they were walking on...solar panels?

"What's with this bridge?" asked Misty, unintentionally ignoring Zoey's question,

"Hm?" said Zoey, looking over her shoulder, "Oh. These bridges here in Sunnyshore are made with solar panels. Some crazy idea the gym leader had when he got bored."

"Oh, and I guess I'm a dress person." replied Misty, answering Zoey's earlier question.

"Hm?" said Zoey, taking a minute to figure out where that had come from, before remembering her earlier question, "Oh, yeah. Cool. I'm a pants girl myself."

"Zoey!" someone called, running up to them. It was a girl with long blue-black hair, yellow berets, and a pink and white hat.

"Hey Dawn!" said Zoey, smiling at her friend, "This is Misty, she's gonna enter in the sunnyshore contest!"

"Nice to meet you!" said Dawn, brightly. "You're gonna have to put up a pretty good fight to beat both Zoey and me!"

"I think I can." said Misty, confidently. "Me and my team are some of the toughest!"

"Well it'll be pretty hard to beat me and piplup!" said Dawn,

"And me and glameow are some of the best around!" added Zoey. Misty smirked,

"I see..." said Misty maliciously. Then she grinned, "Just kidding! Let's get our outfits."

A small bell on the door rang as they entered the costume shop. "Word to the wise," mumbled Zoey, "the lady who runs this shop is a little-"

"A little whaaaaat?" said a woman with scraggly brown hair, neko ears, and glasses as she leaned over the counter to look at them, "Eccentric? Crazy? Yes, yes I am. But I'm also brilliant!" she marched around the counter, and came up to them. She measured her height against Misty, and nodded to herself. "Gym leader, aren't you?" said the woman, grinning at Misty,

"Um, y-yes..." said Misty, starting to get a little creeped out by the lady.

"Nice to meet you Misty." said the woman, nodding to her, "I'm Rachel. Me and my gardevior run this place."

"Hello." said a voice behind Misty, making her jump. A shiny gardevior was standing behind her.

"Uh, hi..." said Misty getting even more creeped out.

"So," said the woman brightly, clapping her hands, "you need outfits for the contest, yes?"

"Th-that's right!" said Zoey, trying to sound normal.

"Let's see..." said the woman, looking all three girls over, "Well, Dawn, you want to beat your boyfriend-"

"Kenny is NOT my boyfriend." said Dawn, but obviously this was a useless argument.

"Yes, whatever." said the woman, waving the comment away, "You enjoy the simple, but puffy, pink things. You're very simple. Zoey, you essentially want to be the greatest coordinator of all time, all we need is to decide on a color, and I think I'll have you down, and Misty, you're an interesting one, trying to impress your boyfriend..." Misty blushed,

"B-boyfriend? I-I don't have a boyfriend."

"Mm-hm." said the woman, as if she didn't believe her, "You'd be best in something simple. Blue, of course, that's definitely your color, maybe some hair extensions..?"

"Eh?" said Misty, she wasn't looking for a makeover! The woman shrugged,

"Just a suggestion. Dawn, we'll deal with you first. Come along!" and the woman whisked her away into the back room, "talk amongst yourselves!" she called over her shoulder, before disappearing.

"I-is she always like that?" asked Misty, nervously.

"Yes." said both Zoey and the gardevior.

"She has good intentions." said the gardevoir, "She's very odd, but also very nice. She runs this shop because of her cosplaying expertise. She especially enjoys having customers like you three."

"Um, can she read minds?" asked Misty, still a bit jarred from her conversation with the woman.

"Um..." Zoey didn't look Misty in the eye, "no one's honestly sure. She always knows a little more than she should. She's scared a bunch of people away. But she's harmless, really. She always says that she only takes customers that can take her."

"That's logical. I guess..." said Misty, still a little nervous.

"Ta-da!" said the woman, bringing Dawn out. She had put Dawn in a pink dress with a full skirt, a magenta ribbon around the waist, and a white collar.

"Nice, Dawn!" said Zoey, giving her friend the thumbs up. Dawn smiled.

"Your turn!" said the woman in a sing-song voice, grabbing Zoey's arm.

"Woah! Heh heh...see you guys in a minute!" said Zoey, as she was dragged back into the back.

"I'm starting to get scared now." said Misty, nervously.

"It's OK," said Dawn, "she really is nice. She doesn't torture you or anything. She actually boosts your confidence a little. She gives you a sort of pep-talk. At least that's what she does for me and Zoey. She seems to know everything...at first it was creepy, but now I'm kinda used to it."

"God, I hope you're right..." mumbled Misty.

"She is an interesting human being." commented the gardevoir solemnly.

"I can tell..." mumbled Misty. Soon Zoey was herded back out again. She had a dark purple suit with silver trim.

"Nice!" said Misty, surprised at the style.

"You look great, Zoey!" said Dawn, brightly.

"Alright Misty, you're up." said the woman, as she half-pushed half-led Misty into the back room.

Misty's jaw dropped. There were outfits everywhere. Lucario outfits, superhero costumes, glasses of all sizes shapes and colors, cloaks, lab coats in multiple different colors, dresses, pants, shirts, and jackets of all kinds, big plush suits that made Misty feel uneasy, and every prop you could possibly imagine. Masks, brooms, pokeballs, and plushies of all shapes, sizes, and species. Misty even thought she saw a mermaid tail. And where the wall wasn't covered in wracks of costumes and props, it was plastered with posters and wall mounts holding lightsabers, katanas, staffs, any kind of weapon you could imagine. "Welcome to my workshop!" announced the woman, gesturing to her enormous collection.

"Wow..." breathed Misty, stunned.

"With my help you can become anyone and anything. I've got costumes out the wazoo! Even a few for your boyfriend." Misty blushed,

"W-whada you mean boyfriend?"

"You know," said the woman, rummaging around on one of the wracks, "Black hair, pikachu, gonna be the greatest pokemon master of all time...ah! Here it is!" and she pulled out a blue and white short-sleeved jacket, a black t-shirt, a pair of blue jeans, two green biking gloves, and an official pokemon league hat. "Believe me yet?" said the woman, smirking. Misty gulped,

"Y-you know Ash?" she said, admitting defeat.

"Of course! That kid gets into more trouble than a seviper and a zangoose. Here, try this on." she added, handing Misty a light blue dress. "Go on!" the woman said when Misty hesitated, "Once we get the right dress we deal with accessories and your hair."

"What?" said Misty, about to close the door the small, but relatively nice, dressing room, which took up (at maximum) a tenth of the huge warehouse.

"Just change!" said the woman, busying herself with the wracks, looking to see if there were any other options. After a minute or two Misty walked out in the dress. "Oh, very nice!" said the woman, brightening, "That's definitely a good one! simple, blue, not half as revealing as most anime dresses...Do you like it?" asked the woman, remembering that there was an actual human being in the dress.

"Um, y-yeah, I guess, I mean, I don't usually dress up...I know I like the color...It's a little uncomfortable..."

"Ah, yes." said the woman, "The comfort factor...always one of the main deciders in my book. Try this one." she handed her a not as form-fitting dress of the same color. Misty nodded to her, and returned to the dressing room. "Better?" asked the woman, as Misty came out of the dressing room for a second time.

"Yeah." said Misty, "I guess I'll go with this one."

"Great!" said the woman, beginning to herd Misty over to a dressing table. "Now the fun begins!" Misty sat in front of the mirror and watched the woman's expression, "Hmmm...We need the red and yellow that'll make this work..."

"Why red and yellow?" asked Misty, confused,

"Red yellow and blue are your three colors. I need all three in your outfit."

"Oh...kay..." said Misty. She had decided to just go with it.

"let's see..." said the woman, wandering off to look through her extensive collection of costumes. "Ah-ha!" she came back with a dark blue crop jacket with red trim. "Here we go!" she said, putting it on Misty. "You like?" she asked, Misty nodded. "Cool." she opened one of the drawers in the dressing table, and pulled out hair pins and a brush. "So," she said, about five hair pins sticking out of the side of her mouth, "what's your strategy for the contest?"

"Strategy?" asked Misty, realizing she hadn't quite thought this through.

"I'll help you out." said the woman, "In the first round of the contest you use a pokemon to create a beautiful display of their abilities. Or at least that's the general idea. I'd recommend psyduck or starmie. Then the rest of the rounds are battles. In those I'd recommend quagsire and lanturn to cancel out weakness. But for the final battle use an old partner like psyduck or starmie. Whichever one you didn't use in the appeals round (the first one).

"OK." said Misty, "I think I've got that. By the way, what are you doing to my hair?"

"I'm giving you a little bit of hair hanging down in the front, and putting all the hair in the back up. We'll need some jewelry and a mask, and we'll be good. You'll totally dazzle everyone!"

"A mask?" asked Misty,

"Of course! always fun to keep 'em guessing!" said the woman, grinning at Misty's reflection in the mirror. She'd now put all the pins in Misty's hair, and opened another drawer and held up a simple silver necklace with a circular sapphire pendant. Misty ogled at the beautiful necklace that this woman was putting around her neck.

"I-it's beautiful! Are you sure I can wear it?"

"Of course you can wear it! That's what everything in this big place is for! I don't have anything that just sits there! Hold on," the woman turned and went back into the jungle of wracks shelves and drawers that made up this back room. She returned with a box of masks, "Take your pick." she said, opening the box. All the masks sparkled in the light; there were some that were extremely fancy, with beads, sequins, glitter, and silk. Others were understated, with barely a marking. Most had gold or silver trim around the edges, and one navy blue mask caught Misty's eye. It was silky with a simple gold trim, and a heart on the bridge. "That one?" said the woman, as Misty picked it up out of the box. Misty nodded and put it on. "There you go!" said the woman, smiling, "you're gonna knock em' dead!" she lead Misty back into the front to see Dawn and Zoey.

"Wow!" said Zoey, "I barely recognize you!"

"You look amazing, Misty!" said Dawn. Misty could feel herself blushing. As the 'runt' of the sisters she rarely got compliments.

"Alright, the contest is tomorrow, so if you'll just go back one at a time and bring back out the outfits, I'll bag them up and you can go on your way." said the woman.

"Don't we have to pay for this?" asked Misty, the woman smiled,

"Of course not! You three are only renting these after all. You can hold onto them for a full week. If you want to keep something longer, that'll cost you, or if you want me to make something, but this is free."

"A week?" said Zoey, "Normally it's just three days!" the woman smiled,

"I'm gonna make an exception for the gym leader." she said, winking. "Dawn, you go back first." Dawn nodded, and disappeared into the back. The woman went back behind the counter that she had leaned over when they had first come in, and the gardevoir teleported away. Slowly but surely all three girls changed and got there costumes bagged up for them, and as she handed Misty her bag the woman whispered something in her ear, "Remember to register yourself as Kasumi." Misty nodded and walked out the door with her friends.

"You are overly obsessed with pokeshipping, you know that?"

"Hey!" snapped Rachel, turning to her gardevoir, Ramona.

The three friends spent most of the day together, having lunch, shopping for seal capsules (Dawn's Idea), practice-battling each other, wandering around on the beach (Dawn flirted with some guys, and Misty admired the different verity of water pokemon), registering for the contest (Misty did as the woman had told her and registered as 'Kasumi'), and finally parting ways, Dawn saying she had to get back to the group. Misty and Zoey happened to be in the same hotel, so they ended up getting room service, and watching a movie. Tired but happy Misty returned to her hotel room, and flopped down on the hotel bed. "starmie, psyduck, quagsire, lanturn, come out!" she mumbled. Despite the late hour, she was still going to train before she had to go the contest.

Someone was knocking on the door. "Nnngh..." Misty's eyes were cemented shut.

"Wake up!" someone shouted through the door, "Time to get ready for the contest!" Misty's eyes shot open, and she jumped out of bed, heart going from 0 to 60 in under 2 seconds. Misty went up to the door,

"Thanks!" she called through the door. she opened the closet and pulled out the dress she had rented, and put it on quickly and efficiently. She pulled the jacket over her shoulders, secured the necklace around her neck, put the mask in her pocket (a feature included in over 50% of Rachel's outfits), and went over to Zoey's room with the hair pins. She knocked on Zoey's door, and it swung open, revealing a grinning Zoey.

"Oh, hey! come on in! Need me to do your hair?" Misty nodded. Zoey led her in, and sat her down on the bed. "You nervous?" she asked, with the hairpins sticking out of the side of her mouth.

"Yeah." said Misty.

"Don't you trust your pokemon?" said Zoey, not nervous in the slightest.

"I-I do. I've just never done anything like this before."

"You've battled haven't you?"

"Of course I have, I'm a gym leader." said Misty.

"A gym leader?" said Zoey, almost spitting out the hairpins, "You serious?"

"Yeah! I'm Misty of Cerulean city! Youngest of four, and a master of water types. I give out the cascade badge."

"You'll be fine! Unless of course someone has an electric type..."

"I'm totally protected from weaknesses on all but the last round." said Misty, realizing maybe she'd be OK.

"There you go!" said Zoey, having finished putting up Misty's hair. "Let's get to the contest hall!" Misty gulped, but nodded.

Misty paced back and forth in the green room, psyduck watching her with its usual confused look. "Hooooh...I don't like this...What if I- I mean we, don't pull it off? What if it crashes? what if someone has an arceus? Or a ditto!"

"Misty!" said Zoey, in a vain attempt to calm her friend down, "You'll do fine! besides, you know it's not about winning! It's about enjoying it, and having fun with your pokemon. And," she added in a whisper, "impressing your boyfriend."

"SHUT UP!" snapped Misty, going red in the face.

"You really do need to calm down." said Dawn, patting Misty on the shoulder. Misty sighed,

"I guess you're right."

"Five minuets to contest start!" called a voice over the intercom.

"Oh...why the hell did I agree to this? Why the hell did I agree to this? Why the hell did I agree to this?..." whimpered Misty, resuming her pacing. Zoey sighed.

"I'm up first!" said Dawn, brightly, "I'd better get ready."

"I think I'm gonna throw up." said Misty.

"Here," said a voice behind her, "have some chocolate."

"What?" Misty half-snapped, turning around. Rachel was standing behind her, smiling.

"Chocolate always helps." she said, holding out a piece of chocolate.

"Th-thanks." said Misty, taking the chocolate and popping it into her mouth.

"Good luck today." said Rachel, and she left without another word.

"That was weird." said Misty, once Rachel was gone.

"Hello, and welcome to the sunnyshore city contest hall!" Marian half shouted into her microphone, "I'm your host, Marian! We have 16 promising coordinators all waiting patiently to show off their pokemon's beauty, but first let's meet the judges! First off, we have Mr. Contesta!" the crowd's applause echoing in the giant dome, "Mr. Sukizo!" more applause, "our local Nurse Joy!" the pink-haired nurse waved merrily to the crowd. "And finally our guest judge, Rachel! Owner of Rachel & Rammy costumes!"

Misty's jaw dropped, "She's a JUDGE?"

"Guess so." said Zoey.

"Is everybody ready to see the appeals round?" Marian shouted through the speakers on the green room TV, the crowd replied with claps and cheers. "Alright! First up in the appeals round, Dawn, of Twinleaf town!" Misty looked down from the screen to watch Dawn walk out the door onto the stage.

Dawn smiled as she walked on stage. This was her world. Ash battled gym leaders, she made her pokemon beautiful. "Go, Togekiss!"

"She has a togekiss?" Shouted Misty, shocked.

"Um, yeah." said Zoey, "What's the big deal?"

"Nothing, I just- I had a Togepi once. It evolved and I had to release it." said Misty, hanging her head.

"Isn't that a little harsh?" asked Zoey,

"What? What do you mean?"

"Releasing it because it evolved."

"No no!" said Misty, "Sorry. That's not why I released it! It had to stay where it was and protect a group of togepi."

"Ah." said Zoey. "Oh, looks like Dawn finished her act. Wonder who's next."

Time passed slowly for Misty in the green room. People and their pokemon presenting amazing displays of beauty, Zoey's act going off without a hitch, and finally, after what felt like a life time, it was time for the last of the appeals performances. It was Misty's turn.

"You'll do fine!" said Zoey, patting her friend on the shoulder. Misty nodded, trying not to look as nervous as she was. She steeled herself, and walked onto the stage.

"And finally, our last performance in the appeals round, Kasumi of Cerulean city!" Misty heard Marian shout into her mic. Misty gulped, and tossed the dive ball she held in her shaking hand,

"Go! Starmie!" the pokemon was released from its pokeball in a burst of bubbles from the ball capsule. "Rapid spin and water gun!" Starmie began to spin on one of its six points, faster and faster, as it released a spiral of water into the air. Misty watched carefully, and before a drop of water could fall to the ground, "Ice beam!" the whole spiral froze above starmie. "Now, psychic!" shouted Misty. The Ice form was suspended in a blue light above starmie. "Conger the images." Misty said in a quiet voice, looking at the ground to avoid seeing what starmie was conjuring in the ice. The whole stadium went from oohing and ahing to complete silence. "I know you don't know me," said Misty, projecting as much as she could, "and I don't know you. But there is one thing almost everyone has in common. There is someone you know, an old friend maybe, that you haven't seen in a very long time." Misty took a deep breath, reminding herself constantly not to look up at the ice, "Whoever they are their image is in this ice. This image may have reminded you that they existed. But regardless of the effect of seeing the image, I have a favor to ask. I'm not asking you to let me go forward in the contest, or win, or anything like that, all I'm asking is that you try to contact that person. E-mail them, call them, send them a letter, visit them, text them, anything! Just remind them that you exist, and make sure they know...that..." Misty was starting to tear up. She had to wrap it up. "That you haven't forgotten about them." Misty tried as hard as she could to hold back the tears, "And with that," said Misty, still not looking up, "Me and starmie bid you adieu." she nodded to her pokemon, and it let the ice fall, shattering into countless tiny harmless pieces, and giving them a cloud of diamond dust in which they could make their exit.

Misty wiped her eyes in the tunnel leading back to the green room. She could never let anyone see her cry. She came into a green room full of people talking on their phones. "Well starmie," Misty mumbled to her pokemon, "either it worked great, or we failed miserably." Zoey noticed Misty out of the corner of her eye, and waved to her friend. She gestured 'one minute' and apparently wrapped up her conversation, since she hung up a few moments later.

"You did great, Misty!" said Zoey, walking up to her friend. Misty laughed in relief,

"So this is a result of my act?"

"Yeah!" said Zoey, "Whole room was silent till' you finished. Then all the cell phones came out."

"Who'd you see?" asked Misty, curious who everyone else saw.

"Miss senior. She's a gym leader, like you. She helped me raise Glameow. What about you?"

"Um..." Misty hadn't thought about what she'd say if the question was returned to her. "Um, m-my dad. He travels a lot, so, yeah."

"I saw my Mom." said Dawn, coming up too, "I should probably visit her after the contest. That was a super cool performance by the way!"

"Heh...Thanks." said Misty, embarrassed.

"Kasumi?" said another coordinator, coming up to Misty, "It's Kasumi, isn't it? You did a great job!"

"Yeah! I wish I'd thought of that!" said another,

"I hadn't talked to my mom in months!"

"My cousin seemed really glad to hear from me."

"I hadn't talked to my boyfriend in a whole two weeks!"

All the voices swirled around her, complimenting her. Misty grinned. She'd gotten through the first round, and to everyone.

"And that's it for the appeals round! We'll announce the winners in ten minutes, when the battle rounds begin!" shouted Marian's voice through the measly TV speakers.

"We've got ten minuets." said Zoey,

"Oh! I'm gonna go talk to the guys!" said Dawn, and she was gone.

"Um, who are the guys?" asked Misty, confused. But she didn't get an answer, Zoey had disappeared too. 'Crap.' thought Misty, 'They left me here with all the weirdoes.' Through the cacophony of compliments that bombarded her, Misty somehow managed to hear her cell phone ring, "Um, can you give me a second?" she said to all the people in general, and walked into the marginally quieter hall to take the call. "Hello?" said Misty, flipping open her somewhat scratched blue cell phone.

"Um, m-Misty?" said a familiar voice on the other end of the line, making Misty brighten.

"Hi Ash!" said Misty, thrilled that he'd called. "Where are you?"

"Uh..."

"Never mind!" said Misty, "As long as you're not in a life or death situation I could care less. How've you been? I haven't heard from you in forever!"

"Fine. Look, I'm really sorry I haven't called you or anything."

"It's fine. I didn't call you either, so..." there was an awkward pause. "Um, how's Brock?"

"He's fine. He keeps us fed."

"Destroyed any more bikes lately?" said Misty, sarcastically.

"Uh..." there was another awkward pause.

"Look," said Misty, realizing this was futile, "I'll call you back, OK?"

"Y-yeah." said Ash, "OK." and they both hung up. Misty sighed. It had been so long. They had totally lost touch. Maybe she shouldn't try to see him. That would most likely just be too painful. Misty put her phone back in her pocket and leaned against the wall, looking at the ceiling. It was hopeless.

"Ash?" Said a voice behind him. Ash swiveled around to see a lady with scraggly brown hair, red glasses, and neko ears standing behind him.

"Uh, yeah. I'm Ash Ketchum."

"Kasumi told me she wanted to talk to you after the contest."

"K-Kasumi? The girl who did the last act?" the woman nodded,

"Yes. I think Zoey knows her. You should talk to her."

"Uh, y-yeah. S-sure." said Ash. The woman smiled and walked away.

Misty swayed back and forth psyching herself up for the first of three battle rounds. She was much surer of herself now that she was battling. She could battle anybody. If she had gotten past the appeals round, that is.

"Alright!" shouted the familiar voice of Marian as it rang through the contest hall, "The judges have made their decisions, and it's time to move on the battles!" eight of the sixteen trainers' faces on the huge screen above Marian's head were moved up. Among the faces were Zoey, Dawn, and Misty. They had all moved ahead.

Misty let out a huge sigh of relief, she'd gotten past the performing. All she had to do now was battle. She could battle. She would much rather have her score determined by strength than by beauty. Misty was up first, up against some guy that looked like he might be a fire-type trainer. He seemed to have a red thing going on. Misty practically ran onto the platform, ready to battle. She was never able to give it her all at the gym. Here she could let it all out and beat this guy. "Go! Quagsire!" she shouted, tossing her dive ball.

"Charmeleon!" shouted the guy, tossing his pokeball. Misty smirked, this would be easy. "Flamethrower!" a burst of flame shot out of the pokemon's mouth at quagsire, but the pokemon continued to stand there, grinning stupidly.

"Waterfall." said Misty, coolly. A huge blast of water shot out of quagsire's mouth into the air, and fell back to earth on top of the charmeleon, knocking it out.

"Kasumi of Cerulean city is the winner!" shouted Marian over the noise of the crowd.

"Quagsire, return." said Misty, smiling. "Good job!" Misty called across the field to her opponent, "Don't forget weakness and resistance." and she walked back the green room, grinning.

"What the heck was that?" asked Zoey, as Misty walked up to her.

"What was what?" asked Misty, confused.

"Why'd you give him tips?"

"I guess that's kind of a gym leader thing, huh?" said Misty, embarrassed. Zoey nodded with a smirk.

All three made it past the first battle round, and in the second round Zoey and Dawn fought against each other, Dawn beating her friend, and Misty beating the 'snot-nosed little priss' that she was up against, leaving Dawn and Misty to battle each other.

"You know," said Misty right before she and Dawn walked onto the field, "I never go easy on anyone. Don't be offended if I cream you." Dawn smirked,

"Same to you." they nodded to each other, and walked to their places across from each other.

"Psyduck! I'm counting on you!"

"Let's show em' what we've got, Piplup!" the two pokemon burst from their pokeballs, ready to go. "Lets start with bubblebeam!" shouted Dawn,

"Ice beam!" shouted Misty. A light blue beam shot from psyduck's mouth, freezing the bubbles on impact. "Now give em' a taste of their own medicine!" psyduck threw the now frozen bubbles back at piplup with psychic, hitting it hard.

"Piplup, let's try peck!" the little blue penguin pokemon charged at psyduck and pecked it on the head, making it fall over. Misty sighed,

"Get back up, you stupid duck!" she snapped, psyduck wobbled to its feet, barely damaged, "Now, use psychic!" Piplup was lifted into the air by the blue energy, and thrown back into its trainer.

"Sorry!" shouted Misty.

"I'm OK!" Dawn replied, standing up. "Piplup, use water gun!"

"Disable!" shouted Misty, Piplup froze in its tacks, but the water was still flying straight at them, and hit Misty in the face.

"Sorry!" said Dawn,

"It's fine!" said Misty, shaking it off, "Psyduck, surf." said Misty, and a final wave of water crashed over the paralyzed piplup, knocking it out.

"Kasumi of Cerulean city is the victor!" shouted Marian's voice over the speakers.

The end of the contest was practically a blur in Misty's memory. Everyone wanting to talk to her, asking her how she did it, what her training methods were. Receiving the ribbon, which was presented to her by Rachel. And even though it was one of the happiest moments of her life, she was still very glad to get back to her hotel room, where she fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

"Hey, Kasu!" Misty heard Zoey shout through the door, "Some guy wants to talk to you!"

"Who are you talking to?" groaned Misty, realizing she probably should have taken her mask off before she went to sleep.

"You, stupid!" Zoey called back.

"Me...?" then she remembered her pseudonym. "OK, OK, I'm coming." Misty turned on the light as she passed it on the way to the door. "Yeah?" she said, opening the door.

"Um, hi." said Ash, when she opened the door. Misty's eyes practically popped out of her head. She grabbed Zoey's arm and pulled her into the hotel room, closing the door behind her.

"What the hell is he doing here?" hissed Misty,

"He said he wanted to talk to you..."

"Really?" Misty said, blushing, "You sure?"

"Would you just go talk to him? He's probably terrified now!"

"You're right." said Misty, and she opened the door again. "Eh-heh-heh...Sorry about that..." said Misty,

"Um, i-it's OK..." said Ash, very confused. Misty smiled at the familiar bewildered look on Ash's face.

"So, uh, what're you doing here?" Misty asked, hoping she didn't look too much like she'd just woken up.

"Um, Rachel said you wanted to see me..."

"Rachel..." Misty growled, "that sneaky little..."

"Um, should I go?" asked Ash, startling Misty,

"No, no! It's fine. Um, wh-who did you see in the ice?" asked Misty, not knowing what else to say.

"Uh...well...I, uh...I saw this girl I used to know..." said Ash, looking at his feet.

"Oh. Um, I guess I shouldn't ask who..." said Misty, looking at her feet too.

"Um, she...she was a gym leader..." Misty blushed,

"R-really...?"

"Um, yeah. Look, I...I should go..." said Ash.

"Y-yeah. S-sorry. Nice to meet you, Ash Ketchum." said Misty, holding out her hand.

"Y-yeah. Nice to meet you too." said Ash, shaking her hand. Ash started to walk away, then turned back, "How did you know my name?" asked Ash. Misty blushed,

"Uh, I, uh...oh crap...uh I, I um, er...r-Rachel told me." said Misty, praying that he'd be dumb enough to take the excuse.

"Oh. Sorry. S-see you around."

"Y-yeah." said Misty.

Misty sighed as she shut the door. That was it. That'd probably be the last time she saw him.

"What was that?" asked Zoey, Misty had forgotten she was there.

"N-nothing. It's nothing."

"What's wrong?" asked Zoey. She'd only known Misty one day, but could still tell something was up.

"I said nothing, I mean nothing." said Misty, glaring at Zoey. Zoey decided to let it go, and walk away.

Misty sighed as she walked back into her hotel room. She had spent all of yesterday in her room, and was coming back from having lunch. "I'm ashamed of you." Misty jumped, noticing the person sitting on the bed.

"R-Rachel...?"

"You just let him go! I don't believe you. I went to all that trouble-"

"Woah, woah, woah." said Misty, stopping Rachel before she went any further, "One: what the hell are you doing in my hotel room, and two: you aren't the boss of me!"

"My gardevoir knows teleport." said Rachel, simply. "Anyhoo, I know that you have a crush on him the size of Texas, and the feeling is mutual." Misty blushed,

"W-what? What do you mean the feeling is mutual?" Rachel grinned, but didn't reply,

"Look, you don't have to find him if you don't want to. I just wanted to put my two cents in before you gave up." and she vanished in a flicker of psychic energy. 'I've gotta be going crazy...' Misty thought to herself. She should probably get some fresh air. She'd go find Dawn and Zoey.

"Hey Misty!" said Dawn as Misty walked up in her yellow t-shirt and blue jeans.

"Hey Dawn." said Misty, trying to act cheerful.

"Where've you been? I didn't see you at all yesterday!"

"I, uh, i-it's a long story." said Misty, looking at her feet.

"Oh. OK. It's really cool that you won your first contest!" said Dawn, Misty smiled,

"Yeah. I think I probably have Rachel to thank for that." Dawn nodded.

"Who's your friend, Dawn?" asked a familiar voice. Misty turned around to see Brock in all his pink-aproned glory.

"Brock?" said Misty, grinning from ear to ear.

"M-Misty?" said Brock, surprised to see his old friend. "Does Ash know you're here?"

"That's a matter of opinion..." said Misty, not making eye contact. Brock smiled,

"You're Kasumi, aren't you."

"How-?"

"Rachel asked him to go see you." said Brock.

"Heh, I picked up on that." said Misty, looking at her feet.

"M-Misty...?" Misty turned around to see Ash. She gulped,

"H-hi Ash." said Misty, blushing. "H-how've you been?"

"Um, f-fine." they both looked at their feet,

"I...I'm in Sinnoh for three more days. I...uh...could I hang with you guys, I mean..."

"Sure!" said Ash, brightening, "Y-yeah, I mean, that'd be great!"

"Daww! Aren't you two cute!"

"Rachel..." growled Misty.

"What?" said Rachel, grinning.

"Rachel." said the monotone voice of her gardevoir behind them, "What did I tell you?" Rachel sighed,

"Rammy, you never let me have any fun!"

"Leave them be."

"OK..." and Rachel sulked away.

"She's a bit odd, isn't she?" said Misty, watching Rachel's retreating back.

"Yeah, I guess so." said Ash.

"So, 'Kasumi'," said Brock, "did you enjoy the contest?"

"Wait..." said Ash, going bright red, "Y-you're Kasumi...?"

"Eh-heh-he...Um, yeah. Maybe. Why?" said Misty, not looking Ash in the eye.

"Wait..." said Ash, gesturing to himself, "so...wait...if you're Kasumi...then I..." Ash gulped.

"Somehow I think you saw_ me_ in the ice." said Misty, smirking at her old friend.

"Um..." Ash looked at his feet.

"The illusion in the ice worked on me too you know. I-" Misty hesitated, "I saw you." Ash blushed,

"W-what?"

"I saw you. That's why I had to look at the ground through the whole thing."

"Y-you saw..._me_...?" said Ash, shocked.

"I...I've missed you. A-a lot." said Misty, looking at the ground. They both stood there for a moment, looking at their feet, when Ash hugged her, almost knocking her over. "A-Ash?"

"I missed you too." said Ash, not letting go of her.

"W-what?" said Misty, still a little shaken.

"I missed you." Ash repeated. Misty smiled,

"You'll never change, will you Ash?" said Misty, wrapping her arms around

him.

OK, it's a bit of an abrupt end again, but oh well. Hope you liked it!


End file.
